First Forced Upgrade! :(

[Scurvy]

I suppose it was inevitable, but the new wraith suffered it's first broken bit today!

I believe they are called the suspension links, and the one on the bottom, on the right side of the front wheels busted right near the back "weight-reduction" hole. (Holy newbie sentence! Sorry...)

So now I get to do what I didn't need to do yet, since I got the wraith RTR... and that's tear it down and hope I don't loose pieces... Makes me very nervous, considering all the other bits-of-stuff that's gone missing in this house over the years! Working on small bits with small children around always makes me nervous, hate having to work on the laptops!

I'll dig around looking for the various options, maybe even titanium!

Here are some pictures showing the break, and the 3 (almost 4) year old driver showing the scale of the wall that got us! The wraith survived a few jumps and crashes, but alas not all of them.

[ZippoMan]

Do you live close to Langley? If so go to RC Pitstop!! Those guys will hook you up with new quality links!

[Scurvy]

Live in Burnaby. There are a few LHS around here (Apollo in N. Burnaby, Burnaby Hobbies in S. Burnaby, SN Hobbies in New West also IIRC).
Just heard about an "RC Pitstop" from someone else recently too, wonder if it's the same place.

Thanks for the heads up!

[TW31]

Wow man I can’t really tell how big that jump is but it must have been a big one because I have never broken a stock link like that. But from the looks of the pic it must be cold there so that would have been a contributing factor. I know how you feel about the kids! My youngest son just turned four and it seems that he has radar and homes in on whatever I will need that I have left setting out. It’s crazy really how he somehow knows to grab the one part that is the most important.
That is why I invested in a new plastic tool box and picked up a lock for it. I have another bigger tool box to keep all of the stuff that I do not use regularly and a small one ($7 at Home Depot) to hold the immediate need tools. That little tool bock is black and holds a lot. I even store video game in there to keep him from scratching them.
Enough about kids let’s talk links. I was in the same boat as you and didn’t really want to spend money on new links at the time. Then I had a little extra money and decided to pull the trigger. If you have the cash VP is the way to go but if you like me and on a budget build then there are a couple of options. One would be to go with Axial and pick up their kit with plastic ends. A friend of mine has this set and they seem to be doing their job. I myself picked up the Hot racing dress up kit and let’s just say this company is hit or miss.
The kit is very nice looking and comes with aluminum ends. These aluminum ends have a gold colored ring in them to hold the ball joints and I have heard that people were having trouble with them coming out. I have not ran into this problem yet but according to the forum it’s an easy fix with some lock tight.
When I received the kit the ends did not want to line up correctly to install them. So I started to tighten them down. I placed a screw driver through the end of one of the links and as I screwing it down the eye of the end broke. Long story short I called their customer service and they sent out a new kit immediately and a package to send the other kit back. There was no arguing or even a hint of disbelief when I explained what happened. This could mean a couple of things. Either they have great customer service or they know their product is not all that great.
The kit comes with all of the steering linkage, complete set of links, and aluminum diff. covers. $75
VP will be more like $100 just for the links. But they are worth it from what I understand from the forum. I have had no problems from the HR kit so far and if I do I will go with Vanquish Products or

[Scurvy]

Just measured my son, and he's around 102cm (40'ish) tall. The wall at that point is at least as tall as he is.

Under 10 degrees but over 0 for sure (celcius), weather says 8c here today, so not terribly cold. The lower mainland here in BC (Vancover area) is basically built on rain forest, so it's always wetter (and therefore colder) than the thermometer and weather report say. And I like overkill better than complaining kids. ;)

Thanks for the info! I was looking at VP for some wheel upgrades actually (thinking about weight further down, not sure it'll matter the way and places I generally drive), and some of their links are fantastic looking. I know I want to do at least 2 other experiment with crawlers (1/8 scale super beast, and a 6x6 with 4ws), so I don't want to blow the budge on upgrades! ... unless I can roll them forward I suppose..hrm

This hobby is dangerous!

[Scurvy]

Also, he landed what I figure must be just about exactly wrong: nose first, basically with the steering servo at the spot where it impacted... figure that can't be a comfy place to land after a launch like that! We've both (and my daughter too actually) have jumped off there before with no problems, never quite with a landing this bad though!

[ZippoMan]

I personally have STRC upper and lower links! Price was probably about $70CAD, I forget now. I got them at RC Pitstop. They look like the stock ones only they are aluminum. I like them so far.

This is from STRC website: http://www.teamstrc.com/index.php?ro...product_id=998

[Scurvy]

OK, that brings up a question I didn't even know I had... are the two-piece links any better than the 1-piece?

[M0D3RN C0WB0Y]

Broke mine like that as well, I was trying to bump it over a rock. But I used masking tape and it has held it together untill my my friend finishes my metal links.

[irollgen4s]

I broke 3 or 4 of the stock links before i finally upgraded. 2 where landing wrong, bottomed out directly ontop of the links on jumps, 2 were just from the front end hitting something a little too fast(meaning a bump, not a wall.) the stock links are absolute garbage.

[ZippoMan]

Originally Posted by Scurvy

OK, that brings up a question I didn't even know I had... are the two-piece links any better than the 1-piece?

Not sure what you mean? There are upper and lower links, you need them both. I have not seen any 2 piece links.

[Scurvy]

Wow, I'm actually surprised. None of the LHS had stock. Of anything (well, maybe more plastic, but I'm not sure that's a good use of $$$)...

So are there some better online places, or should I just order something right from VP direct? I'm quite surprised the titanium's only listed at $25 actually... it doesn't seem that unreasonable to me... am I missing something in my newbie-ness?

[MarkG35]

As someone who has went the cheap route and lived to regret it.

I suggest getting Vanquish parts.

I wish I bought them first.Ended up buying them later.

They are built to last. About all you would eventually need to replace is the

Traxxas ends.

[Solitaire]

Scurvy...where are you in Burnaby?
I've got a couple of spare stock plastic links you can have N/C until you suss out some alum ones. Lowers, right?
I'm in New West.

[Scurvy]

The titanium are 2-piece, they come with the traxxas ends that they screw into. But my wraith is an RTR, so the links are each only 1-piece.

OK, so before I pull the trigger on a few shopping carts I've got loaded (one at A Main, one at RPP Hobby) I've got one more question:
I've never heard of A Main before but they seem to get good interweb reviews, RPP Hobby is a member here which also carries very big weight... So are there any reasons for me to NOT pick RPP over A Main? (None of the Canadian online vendors I know about had stock, and none of the LHS had anything to work even temporarily.)

Thanks very much for the awesome replies!

[1st-n-last59]

I broke mine when mine fell off something. I was suprised it broke between the holes. I just got r2j links on mine. I like em a lot. They were cheap to.

[Solitaire]

I buy a lot of stuff from Amain since their prices are reasonable, but their shipping to Canada is even more reasonable. They are also a very standup company.

I can't buy from RPP as their minimum shipping to Canada is $25

[ZippoMan]

Yeah RPP sucks for Canadians!!! :( Try Toadzrc.com They are great and are getting Vanquish Products starting next week or so!! Great shipping and are in Redding, California!!

I notice even HobbyKing has pretty good shipping prices for Canadians too.

Oh I see what you mean by 2 piece...well should be 3 piece, 1 link and 2 ends! I was wondering what you meant at first.

[Arctic Fire]

That little dude needs a stampede. It'll eat jumps like that for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Scurvy]

I didn't mind the shipping, maybe I am out to lunch! I guess I'll see when I get the package if I change my mind, but for most of my other pre-rc hobbies (mostly computer related) shipping was at least as bad as this!

That was the thing with AMain, their shipping was $25 less... but I think for my first purchase I'll go with RPP. Something about supporting another community member makes me feel more comfortable spending my cash there. Did the same with some indoor helicopter parts at RCG.

And thanks Solitaire, I sent you a PM, and I'm sorry I don't know why I didn't see your message earlier!

I'll post some pictures when I get the replacements and thanks to everyone for all their help! Keep it coming!